Xavier Henry Napoleón Leroux (11 October 1863 – 2 February 1919) was a French composer and a teacher at the Paris Conservatory. He was married to the famous soprano Meyrianne Héglon (1867–1942).
134-764: Born in Italy at Velletri , 30 km south-east of Rome , Leroux was the son of a French military bandleader. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Jules Massenet and Théodore Dubois , and won the Prix de Rome in 1885 with the cantata Endymion . From 1896 he taught harmony there. Notable students include Eugène Bigot , Georges Dandelot , Marc Delmas , Roger Désormière , Louis Fourestier , Henri Mulet , Paul Paray , Louis Vuillemin , and Albert Wolff . Leroux composed various orchestral and choral works, songs, and piano pieces, but he became known above all as
268-638: A branch of the Bourbons ascended to the throne of Sicily and Naples. During the Napoleonic Wars , north and central Italy were reorganised as Sister Republics of France and, later, as a Kingdom of Italy . The south was administered by Joachim Murat , Napoleon's brother-in-law. 1814's Congress of Vienna restored the situation of the late 18th century, but the ideals of the French Revolution could not be eradicated, and re-surfaced during
402-572: A characterizing trait was the mixture of elements of the various Mediterranean artistic traditions, mainly Byzantine , Islamic and Romanesque elements. The modern Italian communities living in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon , Gibraltar , and Crimea descend, at least in part, from the colonies of the maritime republics, as well as the language island of the Tabarchino dialect in Sardinia and
536-756: A commercial triangle between the Arab East, the Byzantine Empire, and Italy. Until the discovery of America they were therefore essential nodes of trade between Europe and the other continents. Among the most important products were: The maritime republics' great prosperity deriving from trade had a significant impact on the history of art, to the point that five of them (Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa and Ragusa) are today included in UNESCO 's list of World Heritage Sites . Although an artistic current common to all of them and exclusive to them cannot be described,
670-525: A crucially innovative role in financial development by devising banking practices, and enabling new forms of social organisation. In coastal and southern areas, maritime republics dominated the Mediterranean and monopolised trade to the Orient. They were independent thalassocratic city-states, in which merchants had considerable power. Although oligarchical, the relative political freedom they afforded
804-533: A famous meeting between Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II , the last king of Sardinia, during which Garibaldi shook Victor Emanuel's hand and hailed him as King of Italy . Cavour agreed to include Garibaldi's southern Italy in a union with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. This allowed the Sardinian government to declare a united Italian kingdom on 17 March 1861, with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king. In 1865,
938-470: A leading role in this development. As many as six of these cities — Amalfi, Venice, Gaeta, Genoa, Ancona, and Ragusa — began their own history of autonomy and trade after being almost destroyed by terrible looting, or were founded by refugees from devastated lands. These cities, exposed to pirate raids and neglected by central powers, organized their own defence autonomously, coupling the exercise of maritime trade with that of their armed protection. Thus, in
1072-560: A long life, remaining independent until the Renaissance . Amalfi and Gaeta were instead the first to fall, having been conquered by the Normans in the 12th century. As highlighted in the following chronological table, the number of maritime republics has changed over the centuries, as follows: The following table compares the different duration of the maritime republics, their golden periods (indicated with more intense colours), and
1206-756: A member of NATO . The Marshall Plan revived the economy, which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period called the Economic Miracle . In the 1950s, Italy became a founding country of the European Communities , a forerunner of the European Union. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the country experienced the Years of Lead , characterised by economic difficulties, especially after the 1973 oil crisis ; social conflicts; and terrorist massacres. The economy recovered and Italy became
1340-647: A permanent seat in the League of Nations 's executive council. The socialist agitations that followed the devastation of the Great War, inspired by the Russian Revolution , led to counter-revolution and repression throughout Italy. The liberal establishment, fearing a Soviet-style revolution, started to endorse the small National Fascist Party , led by Mussolini. In October 1922, the Blackshirts of
1474-532: A representative of naturalistic French opera. His masterpiece is the opera Le Chemineau , which was staged six times at the Opéra-Comique between 1907 and 1945. The music critic of Le Monde , Jacques-Emmanuel Fousnaquer, points out that "between 1907 (the year of its creation) and 1945, [ Le Chemineau ] was performed over a hundred times at the Opéra-Comique, with equal success." It was revived at
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#17327832107821608-410: A republican order, and Amalfi, which became a duchy in 945, are also called maritime republics, as the term republic should not be understood in its modern meaning: until Machiavelli and Kant , "republic" was synonymous with "State", and was not opposed to monarchy. The Crusades offered the opportunity to expand trade. Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona and Ragusa were already engaged in trade with
1742-543: A revival of Italian republicanism. Italy became a republic after the 1946 Italian institutional referendum held on 2 June, a day celebrated since as Festa della Repubblica . This was the first time women voted nationally. Victor Emmanuel III's son, Umberto II , was forced to abdicate. The Republican Constitution was approved in 1948. Under the Treaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers , areas next to
1876-734: A series of wars in the peninsula. During the High Renaissance , popes such as Julius II (1503–1513) fought for control of Italy against foreign monarchs; Paul III (1534–1549) preferred to mediate between the European powers to secure peace. In the middle of such conflicts, the Medici popes Leo X (1513–1521) and Clement VII (1523–1534) faced the Protestant Reformation in Germany, England and elsewhere. In 1559, at
2010-478: Is influenced by the seas that surround Italy on every side except the north, which constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences. Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate is highly diverse. In most inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic . The Po Valley
2144-599: Is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria , Tuscany, and most of the south generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype, as in the Köppen climate classification . Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters, and hot and generally dry summers; lowland valleys are hot in summer. Winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) in
2278-503: Is the tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering 301,340 km (116,350 sq mi), and third-most populous member state of the European Union , with a population of nearly 60 million. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome ; other major urban areas include Milan , Naples , Turin , Palermo , Bologna , Florence , Genoa , and Venice . The history of Italy goes back to numerous Italic peoples , notably including
2412-697: Is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,600 kilometres (4,722 miles) on the Mediterranean Sea , the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, the Ionian Sea , and the Adriatic Sea . Its border with France runs for 488 km (303 mi); Switzerland, 740 km (460 mi); Austria, 430 km (267 mi); and Slovenia, 232 km (144 mi). The sovereign states of San Marino and Vatican City (the smallest country in
2546-670: The Oration on the Dignity of Man , considered the manifesto of the Renaissance. In the arts, the Italian Renaissance exercised a dominant influence on European art for centuries, with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci , Botticelli , Michelangelo , Raphael , Giotto , Donatello , and Titian , and architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi , Andrea Palladio , and Donato Bramante . Italian explorers and navigators from
2680-678: The Achaeans founded various cities. Greek colonisation placed the Italic peoples in contact with democratic forms of government and high artistic and cultural expressions. Ancient Rome, a settlement on the river Tiber in central Italy, founded in 753 BC, was ruled for 244 years by a monarchical system. In 509 BC, the Romans, favouring a government of the Senate and the People ( SPQR ), expelled
2814-622: The Adriatic Sea were annexed by Yugoslavia , resulting in the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus , which involved the emigration of around 300,000 Istrian and Dalmatian Italians . Italy lost all colonial possessions, ending the Italian Empire . Fears of a Communist takeover proved crucial in 1948 , when the Christian Democrats , under Alcide De Gasperi , won a landslide victory. Consequently, in 1949 Italy became
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#17327832107822948-489: The Clean Hands investigation—demanded radical reform. The Christian Democrats, who had ruled for almost 50 years, underwent a crisis and disbanded, splitting into factions. The Communists reorganised as a social-democratic force. During the 1990s and 2000s, centre-right (dominated by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi ) and centre-left coalitions (led by professor Romano Prodi ) alternately governed. In 2011, amidst
3082-831: The Crimean War . Sardinia fought the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence of 1859, with the aid of France, resulting in liberating Lombardy . On the basis of the Plombières Agreement , the Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France, an event that caused the Niçard exodus . In 1860–1861, Garibaldi led the drive for unification in Naples and Sicily. Teano was the site of
3216-660: The Crusades , providing support, transport, but mostly taking political and trading opportunities. Italy first felt the economic changes which led to the commercial revolution : Venice was able to sack Byzantine's capital and finance Marco Polo 's voyages to Asia; the first universities were formed in Italian cities, and scholars such as Aquinas obtained international fame; capitalism and banking families emerged in Florence, where Dante and Giotto were active around 1300. In
3350-475: The Duchy of Milan . The republic was weakened by the state's own arrangement, which, based on private agreements between the main families, led to incredibly short and unstable governments and very frequent factional strife. Following the plagues and foreign dominations of the 14th and 15th centuries, the city experienced a second apogee upon regaining self-government in 1528 through the efforts of Andrea Doria , to
3484-851: The Empire of Japan , and strongly supported Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War . In 1939, Italy annexed Albania . Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. At different times, Italians advanced in British Somaliland , Egypt , the Balkans , and eastern fronts. They were, however, defeated on the Eastern Front as well as in the East African and North African campaigns, losing their territories in Africa and
3618-710: The European Union (light green) – [ Legend ] Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country in Southern and Western Europe . It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea , with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia . Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and two enclaves: Vatican City and San Marino . It
3752-814: The Expedition of the Thousand , establishing the Kingdom of Italy . From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialised, mainly in the north, and acquired a colonial empire , while the south remained largely impoverished, fueling a large immigrant diaspora to the Americas. From 1915 to 1918, Italy took part in World War I with the Entente against the Central Powers . In 1922,
3886-628: The First Crusade , which procured great privileges for the Genoese colonists in the Holy Land . The apogee of Genoese fortunes came in the 13th century, following the Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261) and the double victory over Pisa ( Battle of Meloria (1284) ) and Venice ( Battle of Curzola (1298)). "The Superb", a name for the city derived from Petrarch 's work Itinerarium breve de Ianua ad Ierusalem (1358) in which he described it, dominated
4020-536: The Garigliano (915). At the dawn of AD 1000 , Amalfi was the most prosperous city of Longobardia , and in terms of population (probably 80,000 inhabitants) and prosperity, the only one able to compete with the great Arab metropolises: it minted its own gold coin, the tarì , which was current in all the main Mediterranean ports; the Amalfian Laws , a code of maritime law which remained in force throughout
4154-548: The Great Recession , Berlusconi resigned and was replaced by the technocratic cabinet of Mario Monti . In 2014, Matteo Renzi became prime minister and the government started constitutional reform. This was rejected in a 2016 referendum and Paolo Gentiloni became prime minister. During the European migrant crisis of the 2010s, Italy was the entry point and leading destination for most asylum seekers entering
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4288-901: The Gregorian calendar ; the Jesuit China mission ; the French Wars of Religion ; end of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648); and the Great Turkish War . The Italian economy declined in the 1600s and 1700s. During the war of the Spanish succession (1700–1714), Austria acquired most of the Spanish domains in Italy, namely Milan, Naples and Sardinia; the latter was given to the House of Savoy in exchange for Sicily in 1720. Later,
4422-507: The House of Savoy to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula . By the mid-19th century, rising Italian nationalism led to revolution. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the political and social Italian unification movement, or Risorgimento , emerged to unite Italy by consolidating the states and liberating them from foreign control. A radical figure was
4556-428: The Italian Peninsula , Sicily and Sardinia (the biggest islands of the Mediterranean), and many smaller islands . Some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin, and some islands are located outside the Eurasian continental shelf. The country's area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km (2,784 sq mi)
4690-416: The Italian fascist dictatorship was established. During World War II , Italy was first part of the Axis until its surrender to the Allied powers (1940–1943), then a co-belligerent of the Allies during the Italian resistance and the liberation of Italy (1943–1945). Following the war, the monarchy was replaced by a republic and the country enjoyed a strong recovery . A developed country , Italy has
4824-418: The Italic peoples . The main historic peoples of possible non-Indo-European or pre-Indo-European heritage include the Etruscans , the Elymians and Sicani of Sicily, and the prehistoric Sardinians , who gave birth to the Nuragic civilisation . Other ancient populations include the Rhaetian people and Camunni , known for their rock drawings in Valcamonica . A natural mummy, Ötzi , dated 3400–3100 BC,
4958-461: The Kvarner Gulf , and the Dalmatian city of Zara . The subsequent Treaty of Rome (1924) led to annexation of Fiume by Italy. Italy did not receive other territories promised by the Treaty of London, so this outcome was denounced as a " mutilated victory ", by Benito Mussolini , which helped lead to the rise of Italian fascism . Historians regard "mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel Italian imperialism . Italy gained
5092-522: The Levant , but with the Crusades thousands of inhabitants of the seaside cities poured into the East, creating warehouses, colonies and commercial establishments. They exercised great political influence at the local level: Italian merchants set up trade associations in their business centers with the aim of obtaining jurisdictional, fiscal and customs privileges from foreign governments. Only Venice, Genoa and Pisa had territorial expansion overseas, i.e. they possessed large regions and numerous islands along
5226-442: The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and controlled a large part of Liguria , Corsica , the Sardinian Judicate of Logudoro , the North Aegean , and southern Crimea . The 14th century marked a serious economic, political and social crisis for Genoa, which, weakened by internal strife, lost Sardinia to the Aragonese, was defeated by Venice at Alghero (1353) and Chioggia (1379) and subjected several times to France and to
5360-408: The Middle Ages , date back to that time; in Jerusalem, the noble merchant Mauro Pantaleone built the hospital from which the Knights Hospitaller would originate. The far-sighted dukes of Amalfi were able to safeguard their power over the centuries, allying themselves, depending on the circumstances, with the Byzantines, the Pope, or the Muslims. On the basis of an erroneous reading of a passage by
5494-581: The Middle Ages , enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The term, coined during the 19th century, generally refers to four Italian cities, whose coats of arms have been shown since 1947 on the flags of the Italian Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi , Genoa , Pisa , and Venice . In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona , Gaeta , Noli , and, in Dalmatia , Ragusa , are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of
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5628-408: The Middle East . In the wake of Julius Caesar 's assassination in 44 BC, Rome grew into a massive empire stretching from Britain to the borders of Persia , engulfing the whole Mediterranean basin, in which Greek, Roman, and other cultures merged into a powerful civilisation. The long reign of the first emperor, Augustus , began an age of peace and prosperity. Roman Italy remained the metropole of
5762-479: The National Republican Army . German troops, with RSI collaboration, committed massacres and deported thousands of Jews to death camps. The post-armistice period saw the emergence of the Italian Resistance , who fought a guerrilla war against the Nazi German occupiers and collaborators. This has been described as an Italian civil war due to fighting between partisans and fascist RSI forces. In April 1945, with defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north, but
5896-445: The Norse ; and Amerigo Vespucci , for whom the continent of America is named. A defensive alliance known as the Italic League was formed between Venice, Naples, Florence, Milan, and the Papacy. Lorenzo the Magnificent de Medici was the Renaissance's greatest patron, his support allowed the League to abort invasion by the Turks. The alliance, however, collapsed in the 1490s; the invasion of Charles VIII of France initiated
6030-520: The ancient Romans , who conquered the Mediterranean world during the Roman Republic and ruled it for centuries during the Roman Empire . With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the seat of the Catholic Church and the Papacy . Between late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages , Italy experienced the arrival of Germanic tribes and the fall of the Western Roman Empire . By the 11th century, Italian city-states and maritime republics expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying
6164-405: The collapse of the Fascist regime on 25 July. Mussolini was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III. On 8 September, Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile , ending its war with the Allies. The Germans, with the assistance of Italian fascists, succeeded in taking control of north and central Italy. The country remained a battlefield, with the Allies moving up from the south. In
6298-448: The de facto freedom acquired, the other to that of law. From an institutional point of view, in line with their municipal origins, the maritime cities were oligarchic republics, generally governed, in a more or less declared manner, by the main merchant families. The governments were therefore an expression of the merchant class, which constituted the backbone of their power. For this reason, these cities are sometimes referred to with
6432-412: The eponymous geographical region , is located in Southern Europe (and is also considered part of Western Europe ) between latitudes 35° and 47° N , and longitudes 6° and 19° E . To the north, from west to east, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed , enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain . It consists of the entirety of
6566-406: The ninth-largest nominal GDP in the world, the second-largest manufacturing industry in Europe, and plays a significant role in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union, and is part of numerous international institutions, including NATO , the G7 and G20 , the Latin Union and the Union for
6700-437: The political upheavals that characterised the early 19th century. The first adoption of the Italian tricolour by an Italian state, the Cispadane Republic , occurred during Napoleonic Italy , following the French Revolution, which advocated national self-determination . This event is celebrated by Tricolour Day . The birth of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of efforts of Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to
6834-429: The "causes of the rapid resurgence of Italian maritime trade - Amalfi, Venice, Genoa, Ancona, Pisa" and the "Settlement of the great Italian Navy". For the second class, at the beginning of the year, the teacher was arranged to recall the period in which the maritime republics grew and flourished. Every time the school programs were renewed, the study of the phenomenon of the maritime republics was always confirmed. In 1875,
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#17327832107826968-462: The 13th century, and Ancona and Ragusa allied to resist Venetian power. Following the 14th century, while Pisa declined to the point of losing its autonomy, Venice and Genoa continued to dominate navigation, followed by Ragusa and Ancona, which experienced their golden age in the 15th century. In the 16th century, with Ancona's loss of autonomy, only the republics of Venice, Genoa, and Ragusa remained, which still experienced great moments of splendor until
7102-401: The 1400s and 1500s, Italy was the birthplace and heart of the Renaissance . This era marked the transition from the medieval period to the modern age and was fostered by the wealth accumulated by merchant cities and the patronage of dominant families. Italian polities were now regional states effectively ruled by princes, in control of trade and administration, and their courts became centres of
7236-479: The 9th and 10th centuries, this phenomenon began with Amalfi and Gaeta, which soon reached their heyday. Meanwhile, Venice began its gradual ascent, while the other cities were still experiencing the long gestation that would lead them to their autonomy and to follow up on their seafaring vocation. After the 11th century, Amalfi and Gaeta declined rapidly, while Genoa and Venice became the most powerful republics. Pisa followed and experienced its most flourishing period in
7370-400: The 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, they were able to go on the offensive, obtaining numerous victories over the Saracens , starting with the historic Battle of Ostia in 849. The traffic of these cities reached Africa and Asia, effectively inserting itself between the Byzantine and Islamic maritime powers, with which a complex relationship of competition and collaboration was established for
7504-500: The Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea. The longest is the Po , which flows from the Alps on the western border, and crosses the Padan plain to the Adriatic. The Po Valley is the largest plain, with 46,000 km (18,000 sq mi), and contains over 70% of the country's lowlands . The largest lakes are, in descending size: Garda (367.94 km or 142 sq mi), Maggiore (212.51 km or 82 sq mi), and Como (145.9 km or 56 sq mi). The climate
7638-567: The Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on the summit of Mont Blanc ( Monte Bianco ) at 4,810 m (15,780 ft). Other well-known mountains include the Matterhorn ( Monte Cervino ) in the western Alps, and the Dolomites in the eastern Alps. Many parts of Italy are of volcanic origin . Most small islands and archipelagos in the south are volcanic islands . There are active volcanoes: Mount Etna in Sicily (the largest in Europe), Vulcano , Stromboli , and Vesuvius . Most rivers of Italy drain into
7772-706: The Alps to 12 °C (54 °F) in Sicily; so, average summer temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to over 25 °C (77 °F). Winters can vary widely with lingering cold, foggy, and snowy periods in the north, and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers are hot across the country, except at high altitude, particularly in the south. Northern and central areas can experience strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn. Maritime republics Timeline The maritime republics ( Italian : repubbliche marinare ), also called merchant republics ( Italian : repubbliche mercantili ), were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from
7906-406: The Amalfi people against Salerno, conquered the duchy. Amalfi remained substantially autonomous and often rebelled against the regents until 1100, when the last duke Marinus Sebastus was deposed by the Normans. This left Amalfi only an administrative autonomy, later revoked in 1131 by Roger II of Sicily . After the Norman conquest, the decline was not immediate, becoming in the meantime a seaport of
8040-425: The Arabs and founded mercantile bases in Southern Italy , North Africa and the Middle East in the 10th century. In the 11th century, Amalfi reached the height of its maritime power and had warehouses in Constantinople , Laodicea , Beirut , Jaffa , Tripoli of Syria , Cyprus , Alexandria , Ptolemais , Baghdad , and India . Amalfi's land borders extended from the Sarno River to Vietri sul Mare , while to
8174-403: The Balkans. Italian war crimes included extrajudicial killings and ethnic cleansing by deportation of about 25,000 people—mainly Yugoslavs—to Italian concentration camps and elsewhere. Yugoslav Partisans perpetrated their own crimes against the ethnic Italian population during and after the war, including the foibe massacres . An Allied invasion of Sicily began in July 1943, leading to
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#17327832107828308-449: The Church and new political dynasties. In 1453, despite activity by Pope Nicholas V to support the Byzantines, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottomans . This led to the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy, fuelling the rediscovery of Greek humanism . Humanist rulers such as Federico da Montefeltro and Pope Pius II worked to establish ideal cities , founding Urbino and Pienza . Pico della Mirandola wrote
8442-434: The EU. Between 2013 and 2018, it took in over 700,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, which put a strain on the public purse and led to a surge in support for far-right or euro-sceptic parties. After the 2018 general election , Giuseppe Conte became prime minister of a populist coalition . With more than 155,000 victims, Italy was one of the countries with the most deaths in the COVID-19 pandemic and one of
8576-461: The First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, so it is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, from a historiographical perspective, as the conclusion of the unification of Italy . Italy, nominally allied with German and the Austro-Hungarian empires in the Triple Alliance , in 1915 joined the Allies , entering World War I with a promise of substantial territorial gains that included west Inner Carniola ,
8710-423: The Italian Front, secured dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was instrumental in ending the war less than two weeks later. During the war, more than 650,000 Italian soldiers and as many civilians died, and the kingdom was on the brink of bankruptcy. The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and Treaty of Rapallo (1920) allowed for annexation of Trentino Alto-Adige , the Julian March , Istria ,
8844-536: The Marseille Opera in January 1996, featuring Jean-Philippe Lafont and Martine Surais, directed by Henri Gallois. Alfredo Casella dedicated his Symphony No. 1 in B minor, Op. 5 to him in 1905. Leroux was married to the Brussels-born soprano Marie-Antoinette Willemsen, who appeared under the pseudonym Meyrianne Héglon (1867–1942). This article about a French composer is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Italy – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in
8978-474: The Mediterranean . As a cultural superpower , Italy has long been a renowned global centre of art , music , literature , cuisine , fashion , science and technology , and the source of multiple inventions and discoveries . It has the highest number of World Heritage Sites ( 60 ) and is the fifth-most visited country in the world. Hypotheses for the etymology of Italia are numerous. One theory suggests it originated from an Ancient Greek term for
9112-452: The Mediterranean coasts. Genoa and Venice also came to dominate their entire region and part of the neighboring ones, becoming capitals of regional states. Venice was then the only one to dominate territories very far from the coast, up to occupying eastern Lombardy. Amalfi, Gaeta, Ancona, Ragusa and Noli, on the other hand, extended their dominion only to a part of the territory of their region, configuring themselves as city-states; however, all
9246-476: The Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in reestablishing contacts between Europe , Asia , and Africa , which had been interrupted during the early Middle Ages. They also had an essential role in the Crusades and produced renowned explorers and navigators such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus . Over the centuries, the maritime republics — both the best known and the lesser known but not always less important — experienced fluctuating fortunes. In
9380-452: The National Fascist Party organised a mass demonstration and the " March on Rome " coup . King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Mussolini as prime minister, transferring power to the fascists without armed conflict. Mussolini banned political parties and curtailed personal liberties, establishing a dictatorship. These actions attracted international attention and inspired similar dictatorships in Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain . Fascism
9514-415: The Norman-Swabian state. However, the commercial basin of Amalfi was reduced to the western Mediterranean and gradually the city was supplanted, locally by Naples and Salerno, and at the Mediterranean level by Pisa, Venice and Genoa. Genoa had revived at the dawn of the 10th century when, following the city's destruction by the Saracens, its inhabitants returned to the sea. In the mid-10th century, entering
9648-756: The Papacy, with city-states siding with the former ( Ghibellines ) or with the latter ( Guelphs ) for momentary advantage. The Germanic emperor and Roman pontiff became the universal powers of medieval Europe. However, conflict over the Investiture Controversy and between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended the imperial-feudal system in the north, where cities gained independence. In 1176, the Lombard League of city-states, defeated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , ensuring their independence. City-states—e.g. Milan , Florence, Venice —played
9782-577: The arts and sciences. These princedoms were led by political dynasties and merchant families, such as the Medici of Florence. After the end of the Western Schism , newly elected Pope Martin V returned to the Papal States and restored Italy as the sole centre of Western Christianity. The Medici Bank was made the credit institution of the Papacy, and significant ties were established between
9916-428: The better known cities. Uniformly scattered across the Italian peninsula, the maritime republics were important not only for the history of navigation and commerce: in addition to precious goods otherwise unobtainable in Europe, new artistic ideas and news concerning distant countries also spread. From the 10th century, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across
10050-488: The city of Amalfi to the East is also testified by the art that flourished in the centuries of independence and in which Byzantine and Arab-Norman influences harmoniously merged. Towards the middle of the 11th century, the power of the duchy began to fade: in 1039, due to internal strife, it was conquered by Guaimar IV of Salerno , who would be expelled in 1052 by his brother John II . In 1073, Robert Guiscard , summoned by
10184-442: The control of the Mediterranean routes. Each of the cities was favored by its geographical position, far from the main routes of passage of the armies and protected by mountains or lagoons , which isolated it and allowed it to devote itself undisturbed to maritime traffic. This led to a gradual administrative autonomy and, in some cases, to total independence from the central powers, which for some time were no longer able to control
10318-549: The dispute between Berengar II and Otto the Great , it obtained de facto independence in 958, which was then made official in 1096 with the creation of the Compagna Communis , a union of merchants and feudal lords of the area. Meanwhile, its alliance with Pisa allowed the liberation of the western Mediterranean from Saracen pirates. The fortunes of the municipality increased considerably thanks to its participation in
10452-684: The emergence of Christianity as a world religion, are among the many legacies of Roman dominance. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , Italy fell under the Odoacer's kingdom , and was seized by the Ostrogoths . Invasions resulted in a chaotic succession of kingdoms and the supposed " Dark Ages ". The invasion of another Germanic tribe in the 6th century, the Lombards, reduced Byzantine presence and ended political unity of
10586-446: The empire, homeland of the Romans and territory of the capital. As Roman provinces were being established throughout the Mediterranean, Italy maintained a special status which made it domina provinciarum ('ruler of the provinces'), and—especially in relation to the first centuries of imperial stability — rectrix mundi ('governor of the world') and omnium terrarum parens ('parent of all lands'). The Roman Empire
10720-727: The end of the Italian wars between France and the Habsburgs, about half of Italy (the southern Kingdoms of Naples , Sicily , Sardinia , and the Duchy of Milan ) was under Spanish rule, while the other half remained independent (many states continued to be formally part of the Holy Roman Empire). The Papacy launched the Counter-Reformation , whose key events include: the Council of Trent (1545–1563); adoption of
10854-610: The entire peninsula south of the Alps. In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area, Cisalpine Gaul , considered geographically part of Italy, was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC, but remained politically separated. It was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC. Sardinia, Corsica , Sicily, and Malta were added to Italy by Diocletian in 292 AD, which made late-ancient Italy coterminous with
10988-617: The expression and focused on the corresponding concept in his 1807 work History of the Italian Republics of the Middle Centuries . In Sismondi's text, the maritime republics were seen as cities dedicated above all to fighting each other over issues related to their commercial expansion, unlike the medieval communes , which instead fought together against the Empire courageously defending their freedom. In Italy, up until
11122-576: The extinct Italian community of Odesa . Amalfi , the first maritime republic to reach a leading importance, acquired de facto independence from the Duchy of Naples in 839 . That year, Sicard of Benevento , during a war against the Byzantines, conquered the city, and deported the population. When he died in a palace conspiracy, the Amalfi people rebelled, drove out the Lombard garrison and formed
11256-635: The former Austrian Littoral , and Dalmatia , as well as parts of the Ottoman Empire . The country's contribution to the Allied victory earned it a place as one of the " Big Four " powers. Reorganisation of the army and conscription led to Italian victories. In October 1918, the Italians launched a massive offensive, culminating in victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto . This marked the end of war on
11390-736: The four cities represented in the navy flag inspired the Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics . Armando Lodolini's 1967 book The Republics of the Sea resumed the previous long list of maritime republics: Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Ancona, Gaeta, and the Dalmatian Ragusa. Noli's status as a small maritime republic would only come into focus in later decades after previously being affirmed only at an academic level. In 2000, Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi summed up
11524-482: The free republic of Amalfi. The people of Amalfi were governed by a republican order governed by comites , under which the praefecturii were in charge until 945, when Mastalus II assumed power and proclaimed himself duke . As early as the end of the 9th century, the duchy developed extensive trade with the Byzantine Empire and Egypt . Amalfitan merchants wrested the Mediterranean trade monopoly from
11658-594: The groundwork for modern capitalism. The Italian Renaissance flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Europe. Italian explorers discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World , contributing significantly to the European Age of Discovery . After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Italy was almost entirely unified in 1861, following wars of independence and
11792-434: The humanist Flavio Biondo , the invention of the compass was long attributed to Flavio Gioja from Amalfi. Despite the tenacious tradition that originated, a correct reading of Biondo's passage reveals that Flavio Gioia never existed, and that the glory of the Amalfi people was not that of inventing the compass (actually imported from China), but of having been the first to spread its use in Europe. The close bond that tied
11926-703: The kingdom's capital was moved from Turin to Florence. In 1866, Victor Emmanuel II, allied with Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War , waged the Third Italian War of Independence , which resulted in Italy annexing Venetia . Finally, in 1870, as France abandoned Rome during the Franco-Prussian War , the Italians captured the Papal States , unification was completed, and the capital moved to Rome. Sardinia's constitution
12060-643: The land of the Italói , a tribe that resided in the region now known as Calabria . Originally thought to be named Vituli , some scholars suggest their totemic animal to be the calf ( Latin : vitulus ; Umbrian : vitlo ; Oscan : Víteliú ). Several ancient authors said it was named after a local ruler Italus . The ancient Greek term for Italy initially referred only to the south of the Bruttium peninsula and parts of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia . The larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" became synonymous, and
12194-419: The launch of European expansion towards the East and with the origins of modern capitalism as a mercantile and financial system. In these cities, gold coins , which had not been used for centuries, were minted, new exchange and accounting practices were developed, and thus international finance and commercial law were born. Technological advances in navigation were also encouraged; important in this regard
12328-556: The long list included Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona, Amalfi and Gaeta. Crucial for the diffusion of the list of four maritime republics was a publication by Captain Umberto Moretti, who was tasked by the Royal Navy in 1904 with documenting the maritime history of Amalfi. The volume was released under the significant title The First Maritime Republic of Italy . From that moment on, the name of Amalfi definitively joined that of
12462-530: The maritime republics' historic role with these words: ... The Italy of the maritime republics ... reopened the ways of the world to Europe. Elements that characterized a maritime republic were: The economic recovery that took place in Europe starting with the 9th century , combined with hazardous mainland trading routes, enabled the development of major commercial routes along the Mediterranean coast. The growing autonomy acquired by some coastal cities gave them
12596-564: The maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies to bypass the Ottomans, offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played a key role in ushering the Age of Discovery and colonization of the Americas. The most notable were: Christopher Columbus , who opened the Americas for conquest by Europeans; John Cabot , the first European to explore North America since
12730-411: The medieval fights. Their return in 1860 was a sign of fraternal affection and of the now indissoluble union between the two cities, as can be read on the plaque affixed after the return. In 1860, the study of the maritime republics as a unitary phenomenon was introduced in the school curriculum, further popularizing the concept. From that year forward, the high school program required students to address
12864-537: The mid-17th century, followed by over a century of slow decline that ended with the Napoleonic invasion. The table below shows the periods of activity of the various maritime republics over the centuries. The expression maritime republics was coined by nineteenth-century historiography, almost coinciding with the end of the last of them: none of these states had ever defined itself as a maritime republic. Swiss historian Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi introduced
12998-538: The ministerial indication was also followed up in the history program for technical institutes. That year, Carlo O. Galli claimed in a scholastic textbook that "among all the peoples of Europe, the one who in the Middle Ages rose first to great power" in navigation was the Italian people, and he attributed this to the independence enjoyed by "the maritime republics of Italy, among which Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, Ancona, Venice, Naples and Gaeta deserve more mention". In 1895,
13132-589: The modern Italian geographical region . The Latin Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial , or one from the Roman province . The adjective italianus , from which Italian was derived, is from medieval Latin and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy
13266-420: The monarchy and established an oligarchic republic. The Italian Peninsula, named Italia , was consolidated into a unified entity during Roman expansion, the conquest of new territories often at the expense of the other Italic tribes , Etruscans , Celts , and Greeks . A permanent association, with most of the local tribes and cities, was formed, and Rome began the conquest of Western Europe, North Africa, and
13400-519: The more generic term of "merchant republic". They were endowed with an articulated system of magistracies, with sometimes complementary, sometimes overlapping competences, which over the centuries showed a decided tendency to change - not without a certain degree of instability - and to centralize power. Thus the government became the privilege of the merchant nobility in Venice (from 1297) and the duke in Amalfi (from 945). However, even Gaeta, which never had
13534-519: The most affected economically . In February 2021, after a government crisis , Conte resigned. Mario Draghi , former president of the European Central Bank , formed a national unity government supported by most main parties, pledging to implement an economic stimulus to face the crisis caused by the pandemic. In 2022, Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with
13668-628: The name applied to most of Lucania as well. Before the Roman Republic's expansion, the name was used by Greeks for the land between the strait of Messina and the line connecting the gulfs of Salerno and Taranto , corresponding to Calabria. The Greeks came to apply "Italia" to a larger region. In addition to the " Greek Italy " in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy", which consisted of areas of central Italy. The borders of Roman Italy , Italia , are better established. Cato's Origines describes Italy as
13802-425: The national imagination as an anticipation of the struggles of Italian patriots against foreign rulers. The episode, however, was included in the municipal epic and not in the seafaring one. In the first decades after Italian unification, post- Risorgimento patriotism fueled a rediscovery of the Middle Ages linked to a romantic nationalism , in particular to those aspects that seemed to prefigure national glory and
13936-676: The north, the Germans set up the Italian Social Republic (RSI), a Nazi puppet state and collaborationist regime with Mussolini installed as leader after he was rescued by German paratroopers. What remained of the Italian troops was organised into the Italian Co-belligerent Army , which fought alongside the Allies, while other Italian forces, loyal to Mussolini, opted to fight alongside the Germans in
14070-464: The other republics in the short list, shifting the imbalance towards the centre-north of the country with its presence. In the 1930s, a list made up of four names was consolidated: Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. This finally led to the inclusion of the symbols of the four cities in the Italian Navy's flag. The flag, approved in 1941, would not be adopted until 1947 due to World War II . In 1955,
14204-399: The patriotic journalist Giuseppe Mazzini , founder of the political movement Young Italy in the 1830s, who favoured a unitary republic and advocated a broad nationalist movement. 1847 saw the first public performance of " Il Canto degli Italiani ", which became the national anthem in 1946. The most famous member of Young Italy was the revolutionary and general Giuseppe Garibaldi who led
14338-476: The peninsula. The north formed the Lombard kingdom, central-south was also controlled by the Lombards, and other parts remained Byzantine. The Lombard kingdom was absorbed into Francia by Charlemagne in the late 8th century and became the Kingdom of Italy. The Franks helped form the Papal States . Until the 13th century, politics was dominated by relations between the Holy Roman Emperors and
14472-441: The period of the maritime republics as that history's most glorious phase. At the end of the 19th century, the history of the maritime republics was thus consolidated and consigned to the 20th century. The number "four", which still often occurs today associated with maritime republics, is, as can be seen, not original: the short list of maritime republics was limited to two (Genoa and Venice) or three cities (Genoa, Venice and Pisa);
14606-425: The periods of rise and decline (more or less light colours), determined by the wars won or lost, the commercial colonies in the Mediterranean, economic power, territorial possessions, and periods of temporary subjection to foreign powers. A different colour has been used for Noli to indicate the period of its incomplete independence. The dates placed at the beginning and at the end of each time line respectively indicate
14740-523: The peripheral provinces: the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire , and the Papal States . The forms of independence that were created in these cities were varied, and the modern approach to considering political relations, which clearly distinguishes between administrative autonomy and political freedom, makes it difficult to orient itself among them. For this reason, in the table below there are two dates relating to independence: one refers to
14874-458: The point that the following century was called El siglo de los Genoveses . This definition was not due to maritime trade, but to the impressive banking penetration lent by the Bank of Saint George , which made it an authentic world economic power: several European monarchies , such as Spain , were tied to loans from Genoese bankers and its currency, the genovino , became one of the most important in
15008-458: The post-unification cultural climate, it was considered essential for the formation of the modern Italian people to remember that within the maritime republics and municipalities arose the industriousness that inaugurated the new civilization. In the Regia Marina , established immediately after the achievement of national unity and therefore only in 1861, there were heated contrasts between
15142-469: The republican drive for unification in southern Italy. However, the Italian monarchy of the House of Savoy, in the Kingdom of Sardinia , whose government was led by Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour , also had ambitions of establishing a united Italian state. In the context of the 1848 liberal revolutions that swept Europe, an unsuccessful First Italian War of Independence was declared against Austria . In 1855, Sardinia became an ally of Britain and France in
15276-509: The republics had their own colonies and warehouses in the main Mediterranean ports, except Noli, which used those of the Genoese. If the absence of a strong central authority had been the premise for the birth of the merchant republics, their end was vice versa due to the affirmation of a powerful centralized state. Usually independence could last as long as trade was able to ensure prosperity and wealth, but when these ceased, an economic decline
15410-561: The sailor Augusto Vittorio Vecchi , founder of the Italian Naval League and better known as a writer under the pseudonym Jack la Bolina, wrote General History of the Navy , which was widely circulated and described the military exploits of the maritime cities in chronological order of origin and decay, from Amalfi to Pisa, Genoa and Ancona to Venice. In 1899, historian Camillo Manfroni wrote on Italy's maritime history, identifying
15544-470: The south, Sicily had become an Arab Islamic emirate in the 9th century, thriving until the Italo-Normans conquered it in the late 11th century, together with most of the Lombard and Byzantine principalities of southern Italy. The region was subsequently divided between the Kingdom of Sicily and Kingdom of Naples . The Black Death of 1348 killed perhaps a third of Italy's population. During
15678-402: The struggle for independence. The phenomenon of the "maritime republics" was then reinterpreted, freed from negative prejudice and placed side by side with the glorious history of the medieval communes; thus it also established itself on a popular level. Celebrating history, the Italian maritime cities did not consider their mutual struggles so much as their common seafaring enterprise. In fact, in
15812-405: The traditional liberal and conservative establishment. In the last two decades of the 19th century, Italy developed into a colonial power by subjugating Eritrea , Somalia , Tripolitania , and Cyrenaica in Africa. In 1913, male universal suffrage was adopted. The pre- World War I period was dominated by Giovanni Giolitti , prime minister five times between 1892 and 1921. Italy entered into
15946-461: The unification, this determined a negative judgment on the maritime cities, because their history of mutual struggles appeared in stark contrast to the spirit of the Risorgimento . The only exception was considered the very difficult and finally victorious resistance of Ancona in the siege of 1173, which the city obtained against the imperial troops of Federico Barbarossa; that victory entered
16080-412: The various pre-unification navies: Sardinian, Tuscan, papal and Neapolitan. The exaltation of the seafaring spirit that united the maritime republics made it possible to highlight a common historical basis and overcome divisions. This necessitated the removal of ancient rivalries; in this regard, of great significance was the return of chains that had closed Pisa's port, which had been stolen by Genoa during
16214-649: The west it bordered the Duchy of Sorrento ; it also owned Capri , donated by the Byzantines as a reward for having defeated the Saracens at San Salvatore in 872. Furthermore, for only three years (from 831 to 833), the dukes Manso I and John I also had control of the Principality of Salerno , including the whole of Lucania . The Amalfi fleet helped to free the Tyrrhenian Sea from Saracen pirates, defeating them at Licosa (846), at Ostia (849), and on
16348-534: The world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See ) are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The border with San Marino is 39 km (24 mi) long, that with Vatican City, 3.2 km (2.0 mi). Over 35% of Italian territory is mountainous. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone, and
16482-510: The world's fifth-largest industrial nation after it gained entry into the G7 in the 1970s. However, national debt skyrocketed past 100% of GDP. Between 1992 and 1993, Italy faced terror attacks perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of new anti-mafia measures by the government. Voters—disenchanted with political paralysis, massive public debt and extensive corruption uncovered by
16616-638: The world. However, the republic was then only independent de jure , because it found itself under the influence of the main neighboring powers, first the French and the Spanish, then the Austrians and the Savoys. The republic collapsed following Napoleon 's first Italian campaign : becoming the Ligurian Republic in 1797, it was annexed to France in 1805 with the second Italian campaign . In 1815,
16750-404: The year in which autonomy began and ended; any intermediate date indicates the year in which de facto independence passed to de jure independence. The notes refer to periods of temporary loss of freedom. The maritime republics reestablished contacts between Europe, Asia and Africa, which were almost interrupted after the fall of the Western Roman Empire ; their history is intertwined both with
16884-422: Was among the largest in history, wielding great economical, cultural, political, and military power. At its greatest extent, it had an area of 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles). The Roman legacy has deeply influenced Western civilisation shaping the modern world. The widespread use of Romance languages derived from Latin, numerical system , modern Western alphabet and calendar, and
17018-510: Was based upon Italian nationalism and imperialism, seeking to expand Italian possessions via irredentist claims based on the legacy of the Roman and Venetian empires. For this reason the fascists engaged in interventionist foreign policy . In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia and founded Italian East Africa , resulting in international isolation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from the League of Nations . Italy then allied with Nazi Germany and
17152-525: Was captured and summarily executed by partisans. Hostilities ended on 29 April 1945, when the German forces in Italy surrendered . Nearly half a million Italians died in the conflict, society was divided, and the economy all but destroyed—per capita income in 1944 was at its lowest point since 1900. The aftermath left Italy angry with the monarchy for its endorsement of the Fascist regime, contributing to
17286-673: Was conducive to academic and artistic advancement. The best-known maritime republics were Venice, Genoa , Pisa , and Amalfi . Each had dominion over overseas lands, islands, lands on the Adriatic, Aegean, and Black seas, and commercial colonies in the Near East and North Africa. Venice and Genoa were Europe's gateways to the East, and producers of fine glass, while Florence was a centre of silk, wool, banking, and jewellery. The wealth generated meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned. The republics participated in
17420-655: Was created. After the Lombard invasions, Italia was retained as the name for their kingdom, and its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire . Lower Paleolithic artefacts, dating back 850,000 years, have been recovered from Monte Poggiolo . Excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence in the Middle Palaeolithic period 200,000 years ago, while modern humans appeared about 40,000 years ago at Riparo Mochi . The ancient peoples of pre-Roman Italy were Indo-European , specifically
17554-681: Was discovered in the Similaun glacier in 1991. The first colonisers were the Phoenicians , who established emporiums on the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. Some became small urban centers and developed parallel to Greek colonies . During the 8th and 7th centuries, Greek colonies were established at Pithecusae , eventually extending along the south of the Italian Peninsula and the coast of Sicily, an area later known as Magna Graecia . Ionians , Doric colonists, Syracusans , and
17688-496: Was extended to all of Italy in 1861, and provided basic freedoms for the new state; but electoral laws excluded the non-propertied classes. The new kingdom was governed by a parliamentary constitutional monarchy dominated by liberals. As northern Italy quickly industrialised, southern and northern rural areas remained underdeveloped and overpopulated, forcing millions to migrate and fuelling a large and influential diaspora . The Italian Socialist Party increased in strength, challenging
17822-570: Was the improvement and diffusion of the compass by the Amalfi people and the Venetian invention of the great galley . Navigation owes much to the maritime republics as regards nautical cartography : the maps of the 14th and 15th centuries that are still in use today all belong to the schools of Genoa, Venice, and Ancona. From the East, the maritime republics imported a vast range of goods unobtainable in Europe, which they then resold in other cities of Italy and central and northern Europe, creating
17956-565: Was triggered, ending with the annexation, not necessarily violent, to a strong and organized state. The longevity of the various maritime republics was quite varied: Venice had the longest life, from the High Middle Ages to the Napoleonic era ; Genoa and Ragusa also had a very long history, from the 1000s to the Napoleonic Age; Noli lasted as long, but stopped trading as early as the 15th century. However, Pisa and Ancona had
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